The first time I went was for Monday night trivia night. We arrived about 20 minutes before it started, but the seats were already all full. We weren't sure how it all worked, so we were looking for someone to ask. Nobody in this place is the least bit helpful or even cares that you are there. We opted to leave and try back another time. We went back on a Sunday to try out some pub food. The bartender was not very friendly and again, didn't really care whether we were there or not. But we were already there and decided to eat there anyways. I got the chicken wings and the bf got fish and chips. The food was okay...typical pub food. The woman who brought out our food was also not friendly and didn't give two shits about us. She brought out the food, set the plates down without a single word and walked away. We weren't sure if she would be back with the malt vinegar,but she did come back with that and an extra plate. Again, she set the things down on the table without even looking at us and without a word and walked away. I swear this is one of most unfriendliest establishments I've been to in a while. Maybe they don't like Asians. Who knows. read more

Pretty cool little pub in downtown San Jose. I've been here twice. The prices are pretty darn reasonable for some intriguing beverages. The layout is a little weird, with about a 2-foot wide space between the bar and the wall at one point, but if you pick a spot and stick in it, it can be quite nice. They have some cask conditioned beers in specialty taps, about 15 taps and an assortment of bottled beers. They have whiskeys and scotches, as well. Parking was available around the corner, though the streets are pretty whacked out with bus and trolley lanes and one-way markers. Be cautious in this regard. I would recommend. read more

I'll break it down for you so it's easy to read and make you choice. I've only had the beer here so. Is the beer good? Yes. Is it priced well? Yes. Are the staff nice? Yes. Would I come back? Yes. It can get over crowded tho. read more

It is dark, they serve proper chips, and they have plenty of alcohol. What more can you ask for? They have proper pub food- chips, bangers, etc. Full bar and beers on tap. This place gets packed, even on the most random nights. They have chips w/ curry and garlic chips w/cheese- both good. They have little puzzle games- you know, the metal kinds- to keep you entertained. They have a dartboard in the back. Bartenders are friendly, service is good. If you're into the scooter scene, south bay scooterists- and others who wander from other parts of the bay- meet here Tues nights. They have a quiz night on Mon nights. read more

To say that I've been coming to Trials for years is both a true and false statement. Sure I've been going here for five years, but it's only been about once a year on average. Does that mean I'm an irregular regular? Well, irregular for sure. Trials is small and hole-in-the-wall-ish. The crowd ranges from those in their mid-20s to middle-ages, with the average age of 30-somethings. If you like going to bars and hitting on random strangers or like getting hit on by random strangers, go somewhere else. It's not to say that the crowd here is fugly; it's just not that kind of place. Ah, my kind of place. Every time I come back to Trials, I'm reminded that they have great draft beer. I'm a pretty easy girl when it comes to beer. (Wait a sec, that sentence can be interpreted in more than one way, huh?) If a place has Guinness and Bass on tap, they're pretty much guaranteed three Yelp stars. Ooh, but cask-conditioned ale? Suh-weeeet! Or shall I say, "Maltyyyy!" This is one of the very few places in San Jose for British food, if that's what you fancy. Bangers and mash? Yup. Shepherd's pie? Yup. Fish and chips? Duh. Curry? Yup. I'm no curry expert, but my friend of Indian descent says it's delicious. I'll take her word for it. All I know is that it didn't come out the other end looking, feeling, or smelling like curry. (No, I wouldn't know if fully-digested curry tastes like curry. Sicko!) Quick tip: Monday is trivia night! Note to self: I suck at trivia. read more

There are few things in life that are a sure thing, Trials is one of them. If you don't have time for the "what do you wanna do, I don't know, what do you wanna do" then cut to the chase and have everyone meet up at Trials. Great Food, Great Beer, interesting people, cute boys, and Jessie K can usually be found sayin' haaaaaay, to everyone, and Patricia A will save you one of the coveted outdoor tables. Don't forget to order the curry chips! read more

so THIS is where all the "gueros" in SJ are at! LOL i was impressed by the monday night turn out. felt like i was in a pub in london or wisconsin. either way, i felt out of place yet in place. am i making sense? prob not. my dear friend was leaving Y! and san francisco, so we HAD to bring him somewhere that would remind him of how cool the bay area is. SO-cal is going to be SO plastic to him. lol. good euro beer. good atmosphere. good times. ;) read more

I had given this four stars, but I must revise my review to five stars, as I've been here about a dozen times in the last month and I love this place. Come here on your own and sit in the front bar area. Order yourself some delicious English classics like bangers and mash, shepard's pie, or fish & chips, or even order some curry chicken --- whatever you pick, it will be good. Strike up a conversation with a regular about film, art, literature, cars, motorcycles, politics, you name it...this is the friendliest bar I've ever been to. If you bring your own group, grab a table in the back, or lounge around in the wingback leather chairs in the front. Make yourselves at home. This is the best bar in San Jose to chill and chat. read more

The place where everyone knows your name. This is the pub you always wanted to own. At least I do. The beer is beer and the food is an excellent representation of British cuisine, including Curry in a Bag. Love this place. read more

Trials is a place that you go with friends and just relax and drink a little. They have a large selection of unique brew here so if that is to your liking then this is the place for you. For me its the cider, Im not a beer girl but boy do I love the cider...Strong Bow on tap and you have my heart...quite literally. The place is pretty small and that means that when it is crowded that you will either need to come early and claim a space or mush around in a crowd standing. So with that said ladies please wear flats here, no need for the club clothes in fact they will make you really stand out. In my opinion its a bar/pub that everyone needs to try and I think everyone will pretty much like if not love. read more

Trial's is my home away from the dives I usually hang out at. It's a great place for dates. I love the staff especially Bosco, Thane and Erin. My favorite time to go is around Christmas time. It just has a real down home feeling. I have yet to go on Monday's Trivia night hmmm maybe I should go tonight. The food is always great. I highly recommend Trial's! read more

You can drink outside until 11pm. Me, being my first time there did not know that. And with no warnings.... I get kicked out while walking 2 steps outside where some of my friends are standing. I get kicked out by some lame girl bartender who is taking a break outside, and calls me "An A$$hole", and takes a just bought full beer out of my hands. Nice chill bar, but due to A lame POWER hungry employee there. NO dice on this place. And probably won't go AGAIN. read more

Having cask ale is usually enough to get you 5 stars on my book. Having 3 cask ales on tap is an automatic 5 stars, despite the fact that the bartender was a grouchy ass hole. read more

Trials Pub - 3 cask ales on tap. - Pubs Near Me - San Jose, California

Came here again for a friend's birthday. I have to admit that the food looks good but if you don't get here early expect to be standing. The thing that really made me irritated is that there is this bartender who acted like she hated life. Before I could ask for a beer she interrupts me with a finger in my face saying "ID PLEASE". She said it in such a rude tone it took me by surprised. I gave her my ID and had my hand out to get it back and she threw it down on the counter. I have no idea why she was acting this way.. She acted like I just ran over her dog outside. She gave us our beer.. took a card and left... There was another bartender who was super nice to us and would check to see how things were going. I guess its just a hit or miss with the service here but the awful service that the lady gave me was just super shocking... read more

Note: This is only a review of the restrooms at Trials Pub Trials Pub's men's room is separated from the rest of the restaurant/pub by a couple of walls, which makes for a nice, quiet environment. Also, it's a single-person-at-a-time water closet, so stage fright sufferers shouldn't have any problems. Sure, the room is a little run down, but it's a pub. If you're that worried about modern fixtures and such, you apparently aren't drinking enough. read more

Is it heaven in bar form? As a slightly younger man (six months ago), I traveled to the distant lands of Ireland. While there, I sampled the local cuisine (Guinness) and discovered what a true pint of proper stout tastes like. Many of us have tried Guinness state-side. It tastes bitter and dark and unpleasant. True Guinness is nothing like that. There are two secrets to a proper Guinness: the pour and the tap. While at the Guinness factory in Dublin, I learned about the proper pour. One should fill the cup nearly to the top, while at a slight angle. Let the stout settle. Then give it a nitro-free head by pushing the handle away. Voila. Bitter-free Guinness. Perfection in a pint glass. The other secret, which I suspect is the culprit for poor U.S. Guinness, is the tap. Many think that we simply get different Guinness in the states. Not true, according to the brewery. It is all brewed in Dublin and shipped at high speed to ensure freshness. No, the true culprit is likely the CO2 taps used at most bars. Proper Guinness requires a nitrogen tap, not a carbon dioxide tap. The CO2 makes Guinness bitter. All of this is to say that Trials seems to have a nitro tap. Since returning to this land, I have been unable to find a proper pint. I found Trials on a whim and the Guinness tastes just like it did in the land of leprechauns. In addition, I also tried a couple of cask ales, which were truly magnificent. At about $5 a pint, Trials ain't the cheapest place in town. It's not ridiculous either, especially considering that they have a FREAKING NITRO TAP. Seriously, try their Guinness. It will change your life. Bonus points for Darts and divey-but-not-getto decor. If this place wasn't so dude-heavy, it would be absolute perfection. read more

Trials is where I'm at when somebody burns toast in our building and the fire department makes our entire building evacuate at midnight in the freezing cold. It's a great spot to grab some drinks with locals / neighbors. The staff is really nice and the people in there are very down to earth. Last time I was there, they ran out of glasses! What bar runs out of glasses? That's OK because I was already drunk. read more

I lived in san jose most of my life and I never visited this Pub much... Yet one day my bestfriend dragged me out to go hang out with some "intresting" people, so I wondered what the hell this place had to offer.... But then it happened, I walked in to the joint and saw the millions of different choices ones can choose to drink. It was amazing, being in San Jose and all... So i made my choice and then another one and then another one and found myself drinking more with the regs then with the friends... And for that they saved my ass... So to you Trials, I will shot gun a beer for ya! read more

We go here all the time and to be quite honest, I don't know why this has two dollar signs when it really should be ONE! Geeze, the drinks are so cheap! For 5 drinks, our bill was $35. Then again, I'm used to going to mixology bars and getting those $10 - 15 cocktails. With that being said, these guys are not mixos but will try to make a drink you like. See the thing is, you tell them what you want, and they will make it for you, as long as they have the ingredients (they don't have most cocktaily-drink stuff like egg whites, cucumber [I think] and such). I don't get why Single Barrel customers brag about being able to tell their mixo's what they like. Uh, hello, you can tell any bartender that. Crowd is nice, bartenders and servers are nice. Food is Yum, and the cozy sofas are so awesome. They have a bunch of board games for you to play with--I even brought in my cranium from the car (because who doesn't have cranium anywhere they go JUST in case) and we were able to play it without anyone giving us trouble. In fact, I think we were entertainment for a bit for the other people. Wish we invited strangers who looked genuinely interested and impressed to play with us but for some odd reason the two people I went with were totally anti-social that night. How the heck do you play cranium with 3 people??!?! Right, not part of the review. Oops, anyway.... I like going here. I got a free birthday beer and got to go in the bar and pour it myself. I felt so cool. (= read more

The ambiance here is great - feels a lot more like an English pub than any other I've been to in the Bay Area. The staff are friendly, if a bit harried (and we were there early on a Monday evening). The food was plentiful - but took forever to come out and wasn't all that stellar. The "Canadian Chips" (at least they don't actually call it Poutine) had gravy and cheddar cheese on it. The sausage rolls were deep fried and greasy. And I'd rather have paid less and gotten less of both. I took sausage rolls home, but left a lot of the chips behind. My friend had chicken and mushroom pot pie and said it was good, but again she left a lot of food at the end of the meal. I will probably go back at some point to try out their fish and chips, but it's not really high on my list. read more

I spent a summer frequenting Trials Pub with the weird San Jose Karaoke Mafia a few years ago, and had nothing but fantastic memories of the place. When I was back in San Jose last month I visited Trials for the first time in 5 years and was thrilled to find that it hasn't changed. The beer selection is fantastic, and the bar tenders know how to pour--a valuable skill indeed. I've always tended to go pretty basic, with Guinness or Newcastle or Stella, but when I've strayed from my comfort zone I've never been disappointed. The space is a little cramped, and if you're not in the habit of frequenting the place, you may feel a little bit awkward. Trials often seems to be one big festival of regulars. This can be a great thing though, as once you meet a couple people it's easy to harvest a whole new crop of friends. Trials is everything I love in a pub: good beer, good bartenders, easy-going crowd. It lacks much of what I hate: terrible music, tribal tattoos, and a bad Guinness pour. While I was a little disappointed that time had not stood still, and thus my old friends were no longer there en masse, I was beyond pleased to discover that it's as great a bar as ever. read more

I'm English, and till I found Trials, I hated the other 'British theme pubs' in San Jose/Campbell area...However... Best Guinness in the Bay Area!! Its a PROPER English style pub, without trying to hard to be, no tacky touristy crap, no loud music, no TV's blaring out sports... Damm good food, damm good staff (Thane really knows his way round a bar) Yeah, its a cool place. read more

I think a more accurate name would be "Bonerkill's." This is a cool bar to have a pint during the day, but at night it turns into a hipster bar. If I was a single dude, I wouldn't be here to meet women. Maybe my problem with Bonerkill's is not the pub itself, but the people. I love the quality beer selection and the look, but the people suck. read more

First Impressions: I live a block away from this place! It is on the corner of Divine and 1st, right next the the German restaurant. Very small, you get a door and window as the front of the bar. If you ever visit around the area and see me cruising on the bike, don't be afraid to say hello! Decor: If you ever seen movies that were set during the medieval times, it looks like that. Very rusty, very dim and cozy. No TVs, just board games and trivia; however, you do get wi-fi. Bring your iTouch on steroids called iPads. Sorry, I just wanted to mention the iPad because the name is hilarious. Is it beautiful? No. Is it a good pub? Yes. Service: This place can get crowded with people ages 25-65 and there are not that many bartenders working, but they seem to manage to give everyone attention and great service. How do they do that? I have no clue. When you go to Dave and Busters and there are like 8 bartenders--they somehow seem to be able to ignore you. Taste: I definitely give a place that have their beers and the selection a 5 stars! However, as much as people rave about the food, I don't think it is that great. The "chips" are basically steak fries with different sauces if you want and they get really cold quickly and really soggy. However, I am lucky that this place sells fried food with some good cold beer. I honestly think the food is only suppose to compliment your beer when you go to pubs and their food did. Specialty: You can go here looking like shit and no one will stare you down. You have to love places like that. I can honestly wear an oversize sweatshirt, sweats, maybe even some ugly Crocs and people won't care. Price:Think of it like this, the more you drink, the most it will cost you. $5 beers $7 food (one dish is good for 3-2 people). Recommendations: The sausage rolls are delish. Every sausage roll I ate, I felt like I got an extra roll on my belly. However, I couldn't stop eating them. Oh dear, the rolls were buttery (in a good way). I don't usually eat there because I like to save my belly for the delicious booze. read more

San Jose's very best pub methinks. Everything 5 star. Lets start with the beer, they have lots on tap but I suggest the cask conditioned beers. I always start with a pint of prince black (used to be called penny black). The cask beers are rich and tasty, and prince black is just a little on the sweeter side. Try it! Another thing you have to try is the chicken curry, hot. Their food is great, especially the specials, but the chicken curry is just a classic. It comes with papadon and chutney. Try to get some seats in the back, and maybe play some rounds of darts, sit by the gas fireplace if it's cold. Also, make sure to introduce yourself to the bartenders/owners. They are awesome! and a lot of fun. Trials is the best place to have a relaxing night with your friends, large group or small. Best place to be a regular. read more

Decided to come here with a group of friends after we found out Teske's Germania was closed (on Sunday) next door. Boy was that a mistake!! This was the second time I've been here. The first time I went it seemed fine. So it's really my fault for suggesting this place to my friends. When we arrived, we grabbed some menus from the bar and sat down at a table in the back. First of all, it's really dim in there so it makes it hard to read the menus. I'll let that go since it is a pub, not a restaurant. We made our decisions on what to order and went to the bar to order and pay. Again, this is a pub, so there is no waitress that will come around to take your order. The bf and I shared the bangers plate, curry chips, and the fried vegetable plate. Our friends ordered the garlic & cheese chips, shepherds pie, and bangers & mash plate. From where we were sitting, we could see directly into the kitchen and saw that there was only one guy back there cooking, so we knew our food would take a while to come out. At least we know they weren't just sticking things in the microwave and serving it to us. When the food finally came out, it was absolutely unimpressive. Our curry chips were bland but adding some salt or dipping it in some ketchup helped a little. I tried some of the garlic & cheese chips and those were a little better, but still lacking in flavor. The fried veggie plate was ok...but I mean...how hard is it to screw that up? Everyone else seemed to be ok with the bangers too. I heard complaints about the portion size of the shepherds pie and that it just tasted like ground meat. What really ruined my night was that we saw two cockroaches crawling on the walls while we were eating!! BARF. I am never coming back here...even if it's just for drinks! read more

This became a spot of mine for a little bit, mainly because they have decent deals on whiskey. It's a place with 'regulars' so if you're not one, you're typically reminded that you aren't one. Bartenders can be cold and standoffish, yet very friendly and open to people they know. This can result in an odd atmosphere at times. Food can be alright depending on what you get. But it was the attitude from the bartenders that ultimately turned me off. I'll go back, but sparingly. read more

What is all the buzz about???? This place is not for young gals like myself. I saw all the nice reviews on Yelp, got some friends to meet me here.. and we walked in and were like "this is it?". It's very small, and stuffy, and everyone was staring as if it was only locals that hung out there. I felt VERY out of place and just walked out and didn't bother eating there. Also, it's in a VERY bad part of San Jose.. I went at around 7PM after work and there was no one around except for a bum here and there and some weirdos creeping me out. Why all the good reviews?? WHY?? I don't trust Yelp anymore. read more

This place is within drunken stumbling distance to my house. That being considered, I was pretty stoked when a friend and I took a stroll and decided to stop in for an imbibement. We were greeted by a super friendly tender who slapped a drink menu down for us. They've got a nice selection of microbrews and scotch, but sadly, no Rumpleminze. I settled for a variation of Angry Balls (hard cider and cinnamon whiskey), which you really can't go wrong with. Then we grabbed a dark wood table (there's a lot of welcoming dark wood in here) nestled in the back, and enjoyed our drinks while watching a dart game and glancing around at all the weird flags and posters that occupy the pub's wall. If you're looking for your Winchester bar (think: Shaun of the Dead), you might find it here. I'm looking forward to visiting again with a book of poetry to enjoy while sipping on a pint. Cheers! read more

just like being back in england, great beer, the cask conditioned beer i had, fat lip was real good. Coolest bar i have been to in san jose as it was totally my scene. (not a big club kind of guy) read more

A little gem in the swarm of overpriced, overdressed downtown SJ. This is a great bar for the things that really matter: great bartenders, stiff drinks, and a decent price. There are no TVs in this place, it's all about bringing good company with you. The decor inside is quite ecclectic, plenty to look at if your date starts to bore you. There are also games in the front of the bar to satisfy you restless ones: chess, trivial pursuit, or dice for the gamblers, and they host a trivia night on Mondays. Trials is definitely a "pub", with plenty of fancy beers you won't find many other places, but their bar is fully stocked with any old booze you may want (I prefer a good Maker's Press these days). Food is served until 10ish. They have plenty of sausages, mustard, steak fries, and other such bar food. I'd recommend the French Onion Soup - a very hearty broth that may even fill you up. One con for this pub: they close at midnight on weekdays. read more

Relaxed and homey. It's a nice place to just kick back and have real conversations with your friends, rather than screaming at them over loud music. I love how it's a little bit farther away from the rest of the SJ bar scene; it's a lot quieter and way from the craziness. It's almost speakeasy-esque without the pretentiousness of say Singlebarrel. The bartenders were very accomodating and friendy, one of them even joked around with us when we were playing an epic game of jenga. Games are fun, and even funner with drinks. I don't know how you can lose with that. I would give them five stars but I haven't tried the food that everyone else on here is raving about. read more

I like to drink to the point of blacking out and make believe I am in Belgium. The croissants and pastries are especially filling when u have the munchies read more

Great place being Canadian and a proud member of the Commonwealth - likely the best pub in the South Bay if I had to hazard a guess. Great selection of beers, ciders and ales on tap to be poured or pumped accordingly. I enjoyed a Dragon Slayer IPA, Fat Lip Amber Ale followed by a Black Prince Porter. All quite tasty. Free wifi a plus and they were very accomodating to run tabs when ordering from the bar (no waiter service). Monday night was quiz night. We arrived at 1830 and were able to get a table for the 5 of us about 15 minutes later after someone who was there earlier had left. By the time the quiz began ~2030 it was standing room only. Rather than a long drawn out quiz with multiple types of rounds (ie. Brainstormer quizes), you have a single round, 20 questions, max 3 member teams, answer over 20 minutes and then all teams correct another teams quiz. 50 minutes later the quiz was done with and we had a good time getting nearly half of them right. There were atleast 12 teams. Food: Cheese/garlic fries, they were great when you consider that the cheese was layered in the fries in the bowl rather than all the cheese/garlic being on the top. Though I'm not a fan of garlic fries in general, these fries were quite enjoyable. We also ordered some fish and chips. Great chips and half the fish was good (1 long piece), the other left something to be desired as there was uncooked batter within the lovely crispy outside. Despite the food not being a thrill (I'll give the shepard's pie a whirl next time) and even though I live in Berkeley I will be back. I'd liken Trials Pub to the Albatross if you want a comparison of 'awesomeness'. read more

One of my favorite pubs in Downtown! The service is impeccable for a bar, and the accommodations are lovely and comfortable! Some people may say stuffy, I say comfy and intimate! I can go on and on but to get to the point, there are great times to be had here! If you want to share a few drinks with friends, or a close connection with some one special this is for you!!!! :] read more

I'm disappointed in myself for not reviewing the place where I drink more often than not. I love this place. They have great beer and great service. The bartenders are all awesome - friendly and funny. You can come here with a small group, with just a friend, with your significant other, or solo and always have good conversations because you can typically hear each other. There is music, but it's not loud music. The pub food is tasty and exactly what you expect from pub food. I would say I recommend that everyone comes here, but that hurts me a bit because I would rather keep this place all to myself. Ok, fine, come. But be cool about it, ok? read more

Trials is kind of dive-y, but I mean that in a good way in this case! It's small, it's dimly lit, it doesn't seem like much of the furniture matches, but it's just a fun bar to hang out at! I love that they have board games to play while you hang out with friends, and everyone who goes there seems so friendly that we've actually picked up a new friend on occasion who saw what we were playing and wanted to join in. The food is ok at best, but no one is really coming here for a quality meal - you come here because it's juuuuust far enough from San Pedro and the hubbub of the downtown bar scene that it won't be too crazy crowded, but close enough in case you feel like going somewhere else later in the night. Definitely always have a good time when I come to Trials! read more

Probably the best pub in Northern California. Having moved here from England 6 years ago i have spent a lot of time trying to find a pub thats near to being an authentic english pub. This is it!. This is why i moved to San Jose. Great cask beer, great people... theres an english scene here..scooters and ska... chicken curry and a great menu. Trivia nights on mondays ..Bosco the main man runs the show. A June 2007 update!!! - this place still rocks! and the service..beer and chicken curry has got better and better... the service is better than ever.. ****** 6 stars April 2008 update. The best pub by far in Northern California read more

The cider is a must and the seating in the back makes you feel as if you are rich man in your country home. They also have a full bar, which I did not know until my fifth visit. I also go for the cider and beer. This is one of the best kept secrets of San Jose. The other one is Single Barrel, but that place is not much of a secret anymore. There is plenty of room here, and it is spacious enough where I always get a seat and table to sit with my friends and talk for hours. Its definitely one of those places where you can have rich, deep, and philosophical conversations. read more

I love it here. No fuss...just good beer and some nice scotch...and darts. And they do the birthday pull here. Pour your own pint behind the bar! read more